July '12 Luncheon - Jeff Durrell '91

Jeff Durrell '91 talked a little about his undergraduate days, a bit about his career, and a bit about the commercial real estate conditions in the Seattle metro market. 

In his undergraduate days he spent four summers on the Green Knight crew working for Scot Reusser '84.  Following graduation Jeff pursued his dream to be in radio where he worked with Wayne Cody and his sport crew.  Then Jeff moved into commercial real estate and the rest is history.  

In April 2011, Mohr Partners, Inc., an international corporate real estate advisor, announced the opening of its office in Seattle, WA.  The opening of the new office included the announcement of Jeff Durrell ‘91 as one of the Managing Partners. The office is located at 11235 S.E. 6^th Street, Suite 210, Bellevue, WA 98004.Durrell is a 17-year veteran of the commercial real estate industry specializing in office leasing and sales. He has assisted clients in leasing 6+ million square feet of commercial office space in the Puget Sound area. As a result of his hard work and dedication to his clients, he has continually been recognized and rewarded as a top producer in the Seattle marketplace, and has been named a CoStar Power Broker seven times. Durrell began his career in 1994 with Colliers International, before eventually joining Pacific Real Estate Partners in 1997.  Jeff was a principal at Pacific Real Estate Partners until he made his move to Mohr Partners. 

In addition to Jeff, there are several other Fijis manning the Mohr office in Seattle.  Eric Leland '78 and Troy Leland '05.

Roger Collins '79, Bob Trimble '64, Dan Alexander '53, Ron Crockett '61, Mike Burns '91, Jack Rhodes '60, Jeff Zier '04, Chris Ascani, Troy Leland '05, Scott Reusser '84, Alex Fraser '14, Davis Vaughn '09

Other highlights of the luncheon was Roger Collins '79 and Chair of the Sigma Tau Scholarship Committee introducing the newly printed History of Sigma Tau 1900 - 1960 authored by Gordy Ringoen '60. 


Steve Stoddard '76 gave a report on his start-up company's "pay at the table" system for restaurant industry.  His company is Viableware, and the product is being manufactured in Spokane, and it is in beta tests in several restaurants in the Seattle area.   http://www.viableware.com

June '12 Luncheon - Bob Philip '40

Bob Philip '40, Dan Alexander '53,and John Ellis '50

The June luncheon was a rare treat for those who attended.  As one of our three oldest brothers still standing, Bob Philip '40 shared some of the colorful stories of his long career.  There was little discussion about his 18 years as a Regent for the University of Washington, but there was a an educational and entertaining story to be told of Bob becoming the owner of the Tri-City Herald.  And he noted several times that the acquisition was made possible with the investments of a number of his contemporary Sigma Tau brothers.  The crowd enjoyed themselves as Bob described his accidental entry into the publishing business.  And the story was only more colorful as he described the 13 year union strike they survived.

Bob was informative and entertaining, and the crowd peppered him with questions.  Bob's business acumen is rivaled by his clever wit, so even the Q & A was well worth the cost of attendance.  Being the class of '40, Bob didn't have any classmates attending, but there was a good group attending to welcome him as Tom Allen '43 introduced him.

Tom Allen '43, Dick Radloff '59, and Chuck Lappenbusch '59

May '12 Luncheon - Tom Tuell '72 and the Golfing Gorilla

Tom Tuell '72 is a touring pro who is best known as the Trainer for the Golfing Gorilla.  The Golfing Gorilla has been a mascot of the golfing scene for a solid 26 years.  As the Golfing Gorilla’s Trainer, Tom has never divulged the true identity of the Golfing Gorilla.  But those who attended the luncheon certainly had the opportunity to hear a series of stories about the Gorilla's "celebrity" experiences in and around the Tour.    

Tom shared unbelievable stories from Gorilla appearances at the PGA Tour from  Tiger to Nicklaus and brushes with celebrities from Bob Hope to President Ford.  For more info see  the Golfing Gorilla’s website: http://www.thegolfinggorilla.com           
To arrange for the Golfing Gorilla to join your foursome or be a headline promotion for your golfing event, you can email to thegorilla@nventure.com


Tom answered a variety of golf-questions as did his golf-instructor association Todd Erwin. Todd has served as the "Human" assistant for nearly a dozen of the Gorilla's appearances over the past decade.  Todd is a golf instructor in Tacoma where he coached PGA Pro Kyle Stanley from age 11 until he joined the golf team at Clemson University. Todd shared a number of tips and insights during the luncheon.  


All in all, Tom Tuell's stories about golfing and the Gorilla proved to be one of our more interesting luncheons.  Thanks Tom!

Ad Astra - Barry Bullard '62

Barry Bullard '62 

Former Husky Footballer died at 73

Bullard, of Port Ludlow, played on two of coach Jim Owens' Washington Husky Rose Bowl teams.

By Seattle Times staff

Related

Barry Bullard, a starting tackle on the 1960 Washington Huskies Rose Bowl team, died Monday (March 26th)  at age 73.  Bullard, of Port Ludlow, died from complications following surgery in late January.


Bullard was a three-year letterman for the Huskies from 1958 through 1960. He was a starter on the 1959 team that beat Wisconsin 44-8 in the 1960 Rose Bowl. The next season, he was injured in the third game, against Navy, but came back to play in a few games, including the 1961 Rose Bowl, a 17-7 victory over Minnesota.


Barry Bullard was student-body president and played football, basketball and track and field at Marshfield High School in Coos Bay, Ore. He was part of coach Jim Owens' first recruiting class at Washington. His brother Tim also played on Owens' Rose Bowl teams.


As a senior, Barry Bullard was one of eight players in the nation to receive a National Football Foundation scholar-athlete award. He graduated in 1962 with a degree in civil engineering.


Bullard served 16 years in the Air Force before being forced into a medical retirement. He was a Viet Nam War veteran, awarded a bronze star.  After retiring from the Air Force, Bullard tutored middle-school students in the Seattle and Chimacum school districts.

March '12 Luncheon - James Wagoner '07 - Idaho

James Wagoner '07 - Idaho

James Wagoner ’07 – Idaho  James put on his entrepreneur hat and reminded us that our gas driven cars have a battery.  When our car battery runs low, we have two choices – charge it up or replace it.  While working with electric vehicles, James and his team made the same observation .  When an electric car’s batteries run low, you can spend 6-8 hours re-charging the batteries.  Or you could remove the dead batteries and replace them with fully charged batteries.  If you are on the road in your electric car, the idea of a short stop to get fully charged batteries in minutes is time efficient.  


James explained how the new battery technologies now make it possible to remove and replace the batteries in a car in about the time it would take to fill a tank of gas.  As a result the cars would no longer be out-of-service while being re-charged for hours.  It was an interesting concept that got the luncheon group active with questions and more questions.  James provided us with one of the more thought-provoking luncheons in some time.  


If you have questions, you can reach James at james.wagoner3@gmail.com  


And a tip of the hat to James' fellow Idaho grads at the luncheon:  Craig Schoenberg ’07 and Tony Johnson ‘05

January Luncheon - Mark Freiberg '73

Mark Freiberg '73

Mark Freiberg '73 opened his presentation with some catchy factoids.  Last year over one million knee surgeries were performed on dogs in the USA.  The worldwide market for canine knee surgeries exceeded $ 1 billion dollars. 

Mark reported, that dogs are victims of a form of arthritis that is damaging to their knees and their knee tendons.  The traditional treatment involves breaking the bones to realign the knee, and the recovery is multiple months of restricted activity.  Mark shared a bit of his motivations that drew him to pursue his degree in veterinary medicine.  After being a regional pioneer of emergency hospitals for pets, Mark was an owner member of a pet hospital chain that reached 70 locations before it was purchased.  Today Mark spends his time at the Kirkland Animal Hospital where he specializes in a less invasive surgical technique for canine knees.

Mark is among the pioneers of a canine knee surgery that avoids the breaking of bones, and the dogs typical spend three days in the pet hospital before they are able to leave walking on their own.  Not only do the dogs recover more rapidly from this new technique, but there are substantial fewer post-operative problems.

Sitting in the crowd to offer an independent veterinary view was Casey Sowell '01 who is in a veterinary practice in north Seattle.  Others of note in the crowd were graduates - Tad Richards '03 and Shane Richards '07 --  who also spent their high school years in  Longview (as did Mark).      

Here is a bit of background on Mark:    Mark Freiberg, DVM   Dr. Mark Freiberg graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in Zoology. He attended Washington State University and added a degree in Animal Science and graduated from Washington State College of Veterinary Medicine in 1977. After briefly practicing he founded the hospital now known as Veterinary Specialty Center in Lynnwood, WA.  Today, the specialty center is the largest private veterinary hospital in the state of Washington in terms of veterinarians employed.

Mark then founded Animal Emergency Service of Kirkland, WA.  In 1992, he became the owner of Rose Hill Animal Hospital. In 1996, he merged his two practices to become a founder of Pet’s Choice, Inc. By the late 1990’s Pet’s Choice had grown to 65 hospitals.  Following the merger of Pet’s Choice, Inc with Veterinary Centers of American (VCA), Mark remained as medical director of VCA Rose Hill Animal Hospital  (13006 NE 85th Street in Kirkland).  He attained board certification from the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners in 2001.